Ineffective Literacy Instruction Due to Three-Cueing Before Phonics Foundation

Summary

Many elementary curricula teach the three-cueing method (guessing words from context and pictures) before students have a solid phonics foundation. This approach fails to build decoding skills, leading to poor reading ability, especially for disadvantaged and ESL students. Despite decades of evidence against it, this method persists and is defended by some educators, causing severe inequity and lifelong literacy gaps. No widespread, affordable solution exists to retrain teachers or replace flawed curricula.